SOFTBALL: Greencastle-Antrim completes sweep of James Buchanan

MERCERSBURG — Considering the circumstances, the Greencastle-Antrim varsity softball team solidified its spot in the four-team race for the Mid-Penn Colonial Division crown.

After splitting two key matchups a week ago, the Blue Devils responded by defeating James Buchanan 5-1 on Tuesday, sweeping the season series against a highly-talented Rockets' squad.

Last Wednesday, G-A knocked off JB by the same score only to turn around and drop an 8-7 decision against Waynesboro the following night, leaving control of the division up for grabs.

Currently, the Blue Devils sit tied with the Rockets atop the Colonial standings at 5-2, a half game ahead of Waynesboro and Shippensburg, both of whom are 4-2 in divisional play.

Adding to the intrigue — G-A hosts Shippensburg on Thursday.

"It says a lot about this team to come back the way we did after that tough loss against Waynesboro," G-A head coach Mark DeCarli said. "We did what we needed to do to put ourselves right back in it. If we can win out in the division from here, we basically control our own destiny."

Whitley Mongan paced the Blue Devils at the plate on Tuesday, finishing 3-for-4 with two RBI.

Mary Ward and Ashlynn Schaeffer both collected two hits for G-A while Casey German and Erin Bontrager contributed base knocks in the win.

Elizabeth Ward continued the sensational start to her varsity career on the mound, earning the complete-game victory by allowing just three hits and striking out two.

The Rockets' run came in the first inning as Taryn Miller hit a shot to left that actually bounced off of the fielder's glove and over the fence, thus resulting in a solo home run despite being officially scored an error.

G-A (8-3), who lost to Shippensburg 8-7 on April 2 after allowing four runs in the bottom of the seventh, returns to action in a marquee contest against the Greyhounds at 4:15 p.m. on Thursday.